


Another face

by Commoncoral



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Animated (2007)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Battle, Drama, Flashbacks, Ghosts, Kissing, M/M, Mystery, Post-Canon, Reincarnation, Romantic Tension, marauder megatron, triple changer megatron
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:21:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21813622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Commoncoral/pseuds/Commoncoral
Summary: During Megatron's final moments, Optimus learns of the name Orion Pax.
Relationships: Megatron/Optimus Prime, Megatron/Orion Pax
Comments: 8
Kudos: 113





	1. Another face to Megatron

**Author's Note:**

> So this one was really experimental and I decided to play around with a few ideas like Megatron eventually being a triple changer in season four and slowly losing more of his morals. It's a small little alternate universe that I may expand upon? I hope you find this fic enjoyable, fighting scenes are hard haha.
> 
> Oh, also Optimus has a power armour which was also an unused idea in season four which would have made him as tall as Megatron. I'm not sure if I got my information correctly though.

Megatron wasn't exactly the sanest of all cybertronians but Optimus started noticing he was losing his grip on his morality after he broke out of from jail on Cybertron. He became a more ruthless and careless megalomaniac. Tossing aside his Decepticons lives on a battlefield, using them as a shield. To Optimus, when he first fought Megatron on earth, it was already terrifying facing off the warlord, but he got used to it. Now he was becoming even more of a monstrous Cybertronian then Optimus thought he was which horrified him, the look in Megatron's optics craved more destruction than his goal of taking over Cybertron.

Optimus recalled when Megatron made himself a triple changer, it was not a surprise that his personality would be split like Blitzwing, the surprise is was that he only showed two faces throughout the battles he went against him. 

One face looked quite normal to what he was before becoming a triple changer. One of his personality was sly, a liar, and quite a charismatic one at that too. This was face he showed often around his Decepticons. 

The other face had those same optics that Optimus saw when the regular Megatron took great joy from destruction. That face was filled with rage and the only way to satisfy was to fight. A sadistic energon-thirsty warrior. This was a face he showed often to Optimus.

One thing Optimus found good out of this mess was Megatron finally called him by his designation, even if it was used in a sentence where he promised himself he'll rip his head clean off and have it as a trophy.

Optimus knew shouldn't care about Megatron's mental state too much, but he started to feel bad, he was concerned. He felt that Megatron was losing himself but Optimus didn't know what. Even Blitzwing had more of a firm grasp on who he was.

Their final battle against each other was in Kaon. Kaon was already much of a wasteland, but the whole city on fire was burning away the rubbles and the buildings left in construction of a former city.

Optimus stood his ground as Megatron charged towards him with his sword, grinning widely through that cage that covered his fanged mouth and with his optics focused completely on seeing Optimus offlined by his own servos. 

His sword clashed against Optimus axe multiple times with sparks flying off. Optimus just needed to keep a fair distance away from him, but Megatron was throwing himself recklessly to land a fatal hit, not caring about the other hits that were landed on him by Optimus. He merely used those injuries to fuel his rage to attack Optimus harder.  
Megatron sword lands on Optimus and it shatters his faceplates and another hit cracked his frame. Megatron being elated that he finally was able to knock the prime onto the ground gave Optimus the chance to use his jetpack to get the small distance he needed.

Megatron's face shifted.  
"Must you always be so easy to get, Optimus?" He smiled as Optimus flew backwards. It was his sly face, the most normal one. But not in this situation, it was irregular to have this face shown. Megatron's personality usually just changes to his sadistic one whenever he spots Optimus.

Megatron walks eerily calm towards the fleeing Optimus. 

"I'm happy that I can sense that this is our last battle."

Megatron's face shifts back to a furious one.

"Now if you know what's good for you, I'll let this end quickly." He threatened.

"So you already decided yourself as the winner?" Optimus asked sarcastically he stood up, putting himself in a battle stance.

Megatron let a small huff of laughter, "You have chosen to let it end painfully. Fine by me!" Megatron started aiming his blasters at Optimus, to which he flew and fled somewhere else in the ruins of Kaon.

"Get back here Optimus!" Megatron annoyed, furiously chased after him in his alt-mode. Optimus turned back and started aiming his own blasters at Megatron. Most of his shots landed and he knew they would have slowed down or stopped the aircraft, Megatron still pressed on. Seemingly uninjured but his cracked frame told another story.

Megatron shifted back to his robot mode and tackled him into a building, crushing the jetpack, rendering it useless. Optimus instinctively held on to a piece of the building to prevent himself from falling. Megatron simply laughed and Optimus stared as he was trying to find out why the warlord was just as injured, if not even more then he was and acted like it was nothing.

Optimus grip on the building slipped and he fell. He wasn't worried as the armour which upgraded his frame to be as large as Megatron, increased durability from falls. When he landed, the ground broke and a cloud of dust, either from the rubble or something else blocked his vision around him as he stood up shakily.

Immediately Optimus found himself in a headlock. The pressure around his neck got tighter as he struggled to pull Megatron off of him.

"Yes! Struggle more Optimus!" Megatron's sadistic face watched Optimus expression of him struggling to breathe very closely with a smile that faded. All of a sudden the pressure lightened up as Megatron face switches and another shifting noise caught Optimus attention.

Servos pulled Optimus head closer to Megatron and his lips pressed on the side of Optimus cheek. Megatron let Optimus go as the prime breathed heavily for air. Optimus looked back in confusion as Megatron switched to his sly face. So it wasn't the sly face that kissed him.

"What? Can't a mech show his affections?" Megatron smirked as he flirted. Optimus noticed how Megatron's face cage went back up.

"Megatron, I don't know what's going on but this is unlike you," Optimus said as he felt a strange urge to show concern for him.

Megatron scoffed, "You don't know me. But you were oblivious as always, aren't you? I know you felt the same for me."

Optimus stayed quiet. The injured Megatron stood still and waited for an answer before saying, "I wonder if you remember this place, either from your textbooks or something else."

Optimus looked around to see a broken wall surrounding them in a circle, erosion damage clear from the weather that aged this arena. 

"The gladiatorial pits," Optimus replied, his processor quickly connected with the pictures he learned in his history videos. Megatron turned his back towards him and looked around in nostalgia. His face shifted and Optimus heard an unfamiliar tone, calm but unsure.

"Yes...You know Optimus, I never expected you would be such a huge thorn in my side. I thought I got rid of you so quickly, but you had to keep getting back up."

His face shifted his face again to his teasing voice. "I'm glad you got back up this time."

His face shifts back. Optimus realized it's his third face that was talking.  
"Do you think what you're fighting for is right? Even with all the corruption and experimentation with the Autobots?"

Optimus hesitated before he responded. "It's better then what the Decepticons are turning to. There's a chance that Cybertron will change for the better than with you."

Megatron still facing away deployed two swords and tossed one back, landing into the ground and right next to the pede of Optimus.

"Let's fight fairly this time. Winner takes all." Megatron spoke truthfully.  
Optimus just stares at the handle of the sword blankly. He didn't believe that Megatron would choose to fight fairly.

Megatron spoke again.  
"I won't start until you accept my challenge. Either we end this fight fair or I'll grow impatient and destroy whatever is left of Kaon and you." 

Optimus pulls the sword out the ground and readies his defensive stance. Megatron's face shifts to the violent one and he immediately turns around to look at Optimus. Megatron pointed his sword at the mech in front of him for a second before he rushed in with a yell to attack.

Optimus suddenly heard chants of voices around him, cheering on a name he didn't know.

_The arena was filled to the brim with cybertronians around and his opponent right in front of him._

Optimus snapped back to reality as their swords clashed, Optimus panicked because he has no prior knowledge on how to handle a sword properly. He took whatever he knew about his axe and pushed back Megatron's sword before swinging back in which landed on Megatron side. For some odd reason, Optimus felt that fighting with that sword felt so natural in his servo. 

_He finished his round without murdering his foe, he couldn't have done it. He didn't feel like it was right. As he walked back inside, away from everyone's sight a familiar embrace of someone who praised him made him feel okay. He looked up to see the red optics and gentle face of someone. A face that they only showed to him._

The anger in Megatron's face grew furious. He growled before swinging back to stab Optimus left shoulder, where his Autobot emblem was and left his other arm useless for fighting. Again their swords clashed but Megatron spoke in a rage.

"You always had to be that thorn in my side, that annoying nuisance that kept on growing that never died!"

 _"I'm in love with you, can't you tell?"_ A familiar voice inside Optimus processor played vivid and loud.

Megatron struck at Optimus which Optimus blocked with his sword in his right servo.

"WHY!"

He struck again in the same spot.

"DIDN'T!"

And again.

"YOU!"

Again.

"STAY!"

Again. 

"DEAD!"

There was confused desperation in Megatron optics, he looked so lost and sad. Optimus didn't know what to say, it was almost like he wasn't talking to Optimus at all. What was Megatron seeing right now?

Megatron's face changed again. His sly face appeared and looked at Optimus before sighing with a smile.

"You drive me absolutely crazy you...you.." his smile faded.

His personality shifted back to his angry one and then they continued battling once again.

"You ruined all my plans! my army! and me! My frame is not my own anymore! My mind isn't my own anymore!" Megatron's duelling skills were faltering, getting wild. He was either growing tired or his processor was getting fried.

"You did this to yourself! All of it!" Optimus replied back and stabbed back in an area near his sparkchamber.

Megatron stilled, met Optimus optics, and his face finally switched to the third mysterious face in front of him. It was a darker shade of colour then all of the others, he looked younger, and he was slightly unfamiliar to the Megatron he knew.

"I did, didn't I?" He said before stepping back from his own sword piercing him and collapsing on the ground in fatal exhaustion. The gap that he left showed his sparkchamber flickering. Megatron would have not been dying if he hadn't overexerted himself.

Optimus dropped the sword.

"I quite admired you from the start Optimus, you would of made a fine Decepticon, would have led us to victory." Megatron said as stared up into the sky. Optimus would of also kept him sane he also thought.

"I will never be a Decepticon," Optimus said as he walked closer to Megatron.

"Then promise me this, when you become Magnus you must reunite us all together. The Decepticons-no, the innocent civilians, the war frames, seekers, and the ones that are considered useless in Autobots society optics." Optimus was surprised by how noble this side of Megatron was.

"Return all of them back to Cybertron. Don't let that other mech take over and regress us back to the past." Optimus knew he meant Sentinel.

"Why me?" Optimus asked, having no ambition to become Magnus.

"Because your spark is pure, uncorrupted by those around yourself. Somehow outcasted by many with few can see your potential."

There was a silence before Megatron spoke again. His optics were becoming unfocused.

"I know what I've done...If I only just listened to him, if only I haven't offlined him."

"Offlined who?" Optimus asked again. Was that the mech who he hallucinated? Megatron looked over at him in hesitation before murmuring,

"Orion pax...I ended up killing my dearest with my own servos. He would have been the one to stop all of this." Megatron hasn't uttered his name in millions of stellar cycles. He didn't mean to kill him.

"I wonder what he thinks of me now, what I have become?" Megatron never forgave himself for Orion's death.

_He was caring for someone's wounds. Someone who resembled Megatron. His servos held in his own as the gladiator rested._

Optimus knelt down near Megatron, his spark for some odd reason guiding him to hold Megatron's servos, bring it up near his face, and kissed Megatron cold servos. A familiar name and sentence flowed through Optimus processor and out his mouth without thinking.

"...Megatronus, the courageous and foolish warrior who I love deeply." 

Megatron was taken aback in surprise before he started smiling, "It took us so long to remember..." Optimus couldn't actually remember everything but he was holding on to that one feeling as the faint distant memories were only so slight that only this sentence was the only one he recalled. The weak grip of Megatron held onto Optimus servo.

"My dearest Orion I...I caused you so much grief." The graying and dullness caught up to Megatron as he finally went offline as his optics shut. His last thought was being somewhat grateful that he is going to die with someone he loved holding him. But he had so many regrets, he missed his second chance so many times. He missed Orion.

Optimus spark was aching for some odd reason.

Optimus left the arena holding Megatron's sword. His journey has ended and a new one has begun with a single question.

"Who was he, who is Orion pax?"


	2. Written in a datapad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Optimus deals with aftermath of the decepticons loss and begins his search to find out who Orion pax was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed the title because I felt like it the previous one doesn't fit my story plan.

After a few days, Optimus prime always woke from his berth with the strange feeling in his spark. It still never left since after Megatron exhausted himself to death, or rather "killed" him as the citizens of cybertron cheered him as a savior. He didn't exactly felt like a hero at all.

The victory of the autobots felt hollow to Optimus. The more time he stayed on Cybertron after visiting earth made him question cybertron in general, all the experimentation he found out about and the propaganda made him weary as he compared it to earth history with war.

Optimus searched through Cybertron records of someone who is called by Orion Pax but no results came up. Today he was going to search through the Iacon's archives.

It's has been lonely for Optimus recently, everyone he knew were doing their own things now. Bulkhead went back to work on the farms, Bumblebee had his own elite guard duties, Jazz was back the Dojo so he could train and teach others, Ratchet became a medical chief at his own hospital, and Sentinel was doing whatever to secure his position as an acting Magnus. Speaking of Magnus, Ultra Magnus has recently been a bit distanced from everyone, especially when it came to Optimus.

Everyone had moved on to their new lives and peace finally arrived to Cybertron, why wasn't he happy? This is what he always dreamt of, why did he feel so empty?

" _My dearest Orion I...I caused you so_ _much_ _grief_ _._ "  
The last words of Megatron haunted him.

It was the feeling it gave him, the unrecognizable yet so familiar sense of something he couldn't put a pin on. He felt like he was so close to knowing whoever was Orion Pax was, but it kept on falling out on his grip.  
He was apparently Orion pax but how? And why? It can't possibly be true.

But those flashes of whatever those visions were was so vivid. They felt so real, nostalgic, and so familiar enough to cause his curiosity to search for an answer.

So Optimus arrived at the Iacon archives. A place that only a few cybertronians can enter and due to Optimus being a saviour of Cybertron and having his elite guard status back, his entry was permitted.

It was a quiet place, his steps echoing through the stretched aisles of datapads. So many information and not a clue to find out who was the mysterious Orion pax.

He typed the keywords of the name Orion Pax in the archives database and oddly enough no direct results came up on the archive search engine except for the recommendations of any datapads that had the word "Orion" in them. Optimus sighed as he knew he was going to be here for a while.

He actually got quite distracted as "The 13th" and "Primus" books grabbed his interest as he skimmed through the words and illustrations of history he never saw before. Something about the depictions of the thirteen deities drew him in. There was one figure that been scratched out from the drawings, it was odd.

Optimus eventually found a datapad, one that detailed the rise of the Decepticons. He searched through the index for Orion and to his surprise, there was a page about him.

Or rather one sentence.

 _Orion, an_ _influential combatframe_ _within the council was revealed as a traitor to the Protectobots as the Decepticons uprising began with and was later murdered by Megatron._

"What are you searching for?" A voice spoke behind him. Optimus quickly closed the datapad and turned to see a  
Alpha Trion behind him.

"Oh uh hi, what are you doing here?" Optimus awkwardly asked.

"I'm the only archivist of these datapads." He answered back. Optimus internally yelled at himself for not know the obvious, since he already who Alpha trion was. An idea came across his processor. Since he was the oldest cybertronian on cybertron, maybe he knew something about Orion Pax.

"Did you know someone by the designation of Orion Pax?" Optimus asked.

Alpha Trion blinked in surprise and then stared with a scrutinized and suspicious look, he sighed as the old mech opened up to say with a sad expression on his face,

"The real Orion Pax is erased out of existence. You won't find anything correct about him here."

"Why?" So close yet so far for Optimus search.

"The great purge." Alpha Trion almost hesitated to talk but he spoke again.

"Nova Magnus erased all unpleasant history and mythology to create a revolution of an orderly and united Cybertron. Citizens are more likely to fight for their perfect image of Cybertronians as he said."

Optimus heard the voice of Megatron talking about the corruption and tyranny of the autobots in his processor. He felt pity knowing how Megatron saw himself as the savior of the Decepticons.

"But that is not right...this isn't the Cybertron we should fight for. What other cybertronians are being crushed under oppression and are erased from history? What more is being held secret?"

"That is what Orion pax said to me."  
Alpha Trion had his own suspicions confirmed. Before Optimus could speak again, Alpha Trion put one finger on his mouth and silenced him.

"You must leave, if anyone within the Senate knows of this, you are in danger. You searching up his name in the autobot database is dangerous. Orion pax was supposed to be forgotten and dead."

Alpha trion then led Optimus out of the archives and gave a rather weathered looking datapad to him.

"You must not speak to me again, not until everything has been unravelled. When you remember enough, you'll know where to find me, Orion."

The doors to the archives slid closed in front of Optimus face. Alpha Trion knew who Orion Pax was and who he is now. Optimus opened up the datapad which was corrupted and it was password locked.  
____

Optimus kept tapping mindlessly on the datapad with his servos on the screen, trying to find out what was the password for whatever clue was behind this.

Walking through the city wasn't helping him concentrate as well since everyone optics were on him, wondering what the hero of Cybertron was doing. His larger size didn't make blending in with the crowd any better. Cybertron was home but he wasn't sure if it is his own home anymore. He wasn't sure what to feel, he wanted to get away from it all.

" _Optimus..._ "

Optimus quickly turned to see where that voice was coming from, but no one was there. He is seriously considering about taking a break. That voice he just heard sounded like Megatron.

"Hey Optimus!" He jumped in sudden surprise as he turned to see an approaching flying Sari was laughing and waving at him.

"Sorry about that OP, it's been awhile since I've seen you or anybody else in that case, everyone is so spread apart." She said.

"Hey Sari, it also been a while since I've seen anybody else too. Everybody has been a bit busy lately."

Sari then sighed as she realized that she would have to search all of her friends one by one.

"So what are you up to nowadays now that big bucket head is gone?"

"Wait until I have another mission apparently. Other then that I have no idea what to do."

"And that datapad?" Sari pointed to it.

"I'm well...trying to unlock it to see what's behind it."

"I can help!" Sari hands detach to her analysis mode.

"Not here." Optimus muttered quietly and Sari immediately understood that he was holding something important.

"So when are you returning to earth?" Optimus asked.

"When I want to I guess, why?"

"I kind of miss earth." Optimus made a weak chuckle and Sari noticed his sad expression.

"...Mind if I tag along?" 

________

Sari did tag along with Optimus on the way through the space bridge to earth. Optimus deactivated his power armour and took it off, leaving him in his original size, which was more fitting for Detroit.

Optimus drove to their base in the abandon factory. He walked around and fondly remembered his time here earth with Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Ratchet, and Prowl. It only felt like yesterday he crashed into earth.

Sari sat quietly on Optimus shoulder while he stared at Prowl's room for a long time.

"I miss Prowl." Sari finally broke the silence.

"Yeah...me too." Optimus spoke in a soft voice. He thought about how his death felt unfair to him. After another drawn out silence between them both again, Optimus decided to leave the base.

"Do...you want ice cream Sari? I can drive you there, you said you liked chocolate right?" He wanted to cheer her up since he felt bad about bringing up Prowl's death.

"I prefer frozen yogurt." Sari replied with a small smile.

"...Aren't they both the same thing?" Optimus asked and Sari started chuckling softly.  
_____

Sari sat on the outdoor table outside the parlor and ate her frozen yogurt while describing the difference between ice cream and yogurt. After the explanation, Sari thoughts drifted off to something else.

"Can I tell you something Optimus?"  
Sari said out of the blue.

"Go ahead."

"I've been getting weird dreams lately and I think they're trying to tell me something, it's always been same things and it almost feels like the time I talked to the allspark."

"What happens in your dreams?"

"There's this guy, he was orange and he had glasses and he was a Cybertronian, then there was this other guy with horns and he was really freaky and cybertron was destroyed. I keep forgetting the other stuff after I wake up though." Sari sighed, those dreams has been frequently keeping her up at night.

Sari continued her rant, "It's just frustrating to try to remember things that I keep on forgetting.".

"I can understand that." Optimus said.

"Really?"

"I forgot... something important about myself. I can barely remember what happened." It was difficult for Optimus to describe his current situation, so it felt better for him to keep it vague.

"Well I'm not sure if it's means anything to you but I once heard from a movie that nothing stays forgotten forever. It just takes a while for it to come back."

Optimus felt slightly relieved by those words. 

"Also can I see that datapad? I'm pretty curious what's behind that thing."

Optimus handed it over to Sari and every joint of her hand extended then glowed. Her eyes closed as she was listening to the machine.

Her eyes opened after a moment.

"The password is...Megatronus?" Sari said.

Optimus spark flashed inside his chest for a moment in shock. Optimus recalled the last words he spoke to a dying Megatron.

 _"Megatronus, the foolish warrior who_ _I_ _love deeply."_

At that time, he had no control and no idea why he said that.

"What does that mean OP?"

"I...I think that was Megatron previous designation." Optimus replied as he nervously typed that name into the datapad.

The screen started uncorrupting slowly but the letters were still slightly illegible. There was a picture that revealed itself underneath the glitches.

A picture of a young Megatron smiling with his arm around another mech, presumably a drowsy-looking Orion pax in a bar.

 _"Never quite held your high grade too well."_ He swore he heard Megatron voice laugh in his processor. Was he hearing a memory? Optimus felt like he need a rest sooner or later.

"That guy...! He was one of the cybertronians in my dream!" Sari Shouted.

"What?" Optimus asked in surprise.

"Yeah! He...he had like tons of things stabbed through him? He seemed pretty fine walking off though..."  
Sari was scratching her head to try to recall was else happen.

Optimus watched as the letters on the datapad unscrambled to show a short few sentences.

 _"Looking back,_ _I_ _am still an_ _oblivious_ _fool. You kissed me many times and_ _I_ _never_ _realized_ _it until_ _this_ _day. I never realized it was love until you told me. - OP"_

"His name is Orion Pax." Optimus said to Sari.

"He kinda looks like you. So, he was Megatron's boyfriend? I never knew they can both be so... sweet. This note is really romantic but what kind of obliviousness reaches a point where you can kiss someone and not realize they had feelings?!"  
Sari was quite ready to gossip about Megatron's love life.

 _"An endearing obliviousness."_  
And again Optimus heard Megatron's voice again, maybe his death was affecting him more seriously than he thought it was.

"I'm..not sure," Optimus responded back in embarrassment. Was he really like this before? he surely can't be that oblivious. 

"Sooo, why do you have this guys diary? Are you doing some investigating?"

"uh...yes. You could say that." 

Sari was suspicious and knew that Optimus wasn't telling her everything. 

"What kind of investigation is going on?" She asked.

Optimus wanted to change the subject, "it's getting late, you should head back home."

"Optimus-"

"I'll...tell you when I'm ready." Sari saw a lonely look on his face before he transformed and left. Sari never thought about it much before but she now noticed how Optimus never talked about himself often. Whatever Optimus was going through, she wanted to help.  
______

Optimus didn't feel like going into recharge, he just kept driving and eventually all this thoughts about Megatron led him to the former decepticon base. Surely there would be piece of information about Orion somewhere if he was that close to Megatron.

He felt like he needed to be alone for a while, Optimus just needed a little more time figure things out. Was he really Orion Pax? What was the use for this search? What did he need to remember?

What if he didn't liked what he forgot? Was he really the appearent autobot traitor that got murdered by his own lover?

Optimus sighed to himself as he walked through the stretched tunnels. He eventually reached the main decepticons quarters and saw the somewhat functioning equipments and giant monitors.

An idea struck Optimus, if he couldn't search anything related to Orion pax using autobot equipment then he can use decepticon technology to uncorrupt Orion's diary.

He hooked up the datapad and using his basic knowledge of code and data breaking, he found out most file entries were unrecoverable. He managed to restore some sentences.

 _"I worry if I let everyone down. Everyone calls me naive and optimistic but_ _I'm_ _just trying to make people worry less about me."_

 _"I guess_ _it_ _didn't matter anyways. I really did_ _tried_ _my best to find my happiness in this world."_

 _"I know Megatronus hates me now,_ _I_ _wish for our old days to return. I think those were the happiest moments of my life."_

Orion sounded sad. Was his past life that tragic? Optimus did deeply understand his worries, and it seem like all his fears came true, looking at the diary entries. What made Megatron hate Orion pax?

 _"I never hated you."_ Optimus heard Megatron clearly.

Optimus turned around and saw him. No, he couldn't be alive. And he wasn't. His servos phased through Megatron's translucent frame.

"By now, death is only a temporary solution to keep me away from you." Megatron replied with a smile as he realized that Optimus Prime could see him now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tried to add a bit of humour to balance out everything else in the previous chapter.


	3. Not quite dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A not dead Megatron declares endless love to a confused Optimus.

"How...?" Optimus barely managed to speak out. Even though Megatron had the most friendliest smile he ever saw from him, Optimus was terrified.

"Do not be afraid, I will not hurt you." Megatron tried to ease the nervous Optimus.

" Imagine my surprise, I thought it would either be the Allspark or the pits. But here I am, with the love of my life." The ghost of Megatron chuckled to himself.

"L-love?? Are you even real?" Optimus questioned as he felt the whiplash of this rather happy Megatron compared to all the other times before when they were fighting to the death.

"Of course I am, you just haven't remembered this side of me yet." 

Megatron winked as he was overjoyed that his afterlife was spent with someone he loved.

"But I'm not who you think I am!" Optimus said, flustered and still very confused.

"Oh?" Megatron replied.

"Look I'm not even sure I am Orion pax and if I am, I don't have all his memories! I am a completely different cybertronian from him! You can't just act like we are lovers!" Optimus stammered out, feeling awkward because he thought he was receiving the affections for a different person.

Megatron gave a little huff of amusement out.  
"You worry too much about trivialities, but I understand your feelings and your confusion. Why do you think I'm doing this?"

"What do you mean?"  
Megatron kneeled to Optimus level and gave direct optic contact and promised to him, 

"You shall see that I'll make you fall in love with me all over again, my dearest."

"Wha-what..." Optimus face flushed up as he buried his blushing expression in his servos as Megatron laughed.

"If it makes you more comfortable, I fell in love with you even before I realized you were Orion Pax. After his death, I swore any feelings of love died alongside him. But you in this life managed the way into my spark again. Of course, it was you the entire time."

Optimus peeked through his servos, still unsure if what he was seeing was real and for sure, Megatron was still there in front of him with a gentle smile.  
Megatron is dead, yes but that isn't going to stop him from trying to court Optimus. If he escaped death once, he can manage somehow to do it again.

"The flirting is a bit too much for me..." Optimus said.

"Subtlety isn't my forte. But I will try for you." And Megatron gave a flirty look over to Optimus.

Optimus looked away and faked-coughed from to try to get off-topic, "How come you're still here anyway? How are you even here?"

"Ah, that," Megatron recalled in shame, remembering when his triple changer mode started to take a toll on his sanity and his obsession with Optimus began.

"It was a failed plan back then, I had Shockwave secretly start installing my own data into your system. I'm physically in your processor as a virus but the initial brainwashing step failed. It seems like it activated after my death but I have no intention to rewire your programming now. So, here I am."

Optimus is mortified by the idea of what would have happened if the data activated when Megatron was alive.

"I'm glad that didn't happen in the end," Megatron replied.

"What?" It was like Megatron heard Optimus own thoughts.

"I forgot to mention I can hear and feel your thoughts because we share a processor."

Optimus felt uneasy as he found out he basically learned he had no privacy and sharing all his thoughts with Megatron unintentionally was strangely intimate.

Megatron chuckled as he leaned in closer to Optimus face, "We've been more intimate than that before." 

Optimus then covered his blushing face with his servos again as Megatron laughed,

"I love it when you do that," Megatron said as he fondly recalled the old times.

"You said you'd be more subtle." Optimus whispered out.

"If I get any more subtle all of my attempts would go over your head," Megatron said, knowing how he is still oblivious to advances after all this time.

"Optimus? Who are you talking to?"

Optimus heard a familiar voice and immediately turns his head to a tired-looking Sari as she stared confused at the prime from across the room.  
He took a long second to respond to being caught talking to the air.

"N-no one at all. Just myself. Why are you still awake?" Sari could already that Optimus told a lie.

"Weird nightmares keeping me up again, anyways it sounded like you were talking to someone else other than yourself. Are you okay Optimus?"

"I'm fine."

"You're definitely hiding something."

"The techno-organic is quite observant," Megatron observed.

"Her name is Sari."  
Optimus corrected.

"Of course my name is Sari?" She said as her suspicions started increasing.

Ah scrap.

"Optimus, you said you weren't ready to tell me something but I'm worried and I want to help." Sari walked closer.

"It's my own problem, I can handle it."

Sari has had enough with the lying and being treated like she wasn't capable of helping others. She couldn't let Optimus drift away from others if he kept up acting like everything was fine.

"Nothing will get solved if you don't tell me anything!"

So she raised up her hands to Optimus and her electronic joints extended as she started analyzing Optimus spark, she never attempted or thought to try this on a cybertronian before but perhaps her nightmare visions were onto something.

She saw a flicker of something behind Optimus and concentrated harder so the image would stay.

"Sari?" Her line of slight then shifted towards the confused Optimus and did a double-take when she realized what she saw wasn't Optimus. It the image of Orion pax replacing Optimus, Megatron noticed and although he was right behind Optimus, he would recognize that frame anywhere.

Sari's vision then went to behind Optimus she saw the figure he was talking to, Megatron. Sari froze with shock.

"She sees me." Megatron spoke to Optimus.

"What?"

Sari's hand returned to normal, and Optimus looked like Optimus again but the ghost of Megatron remained. It took a while for Sari to take in what she saw and questioned which question she should start asking. Many questions shuffled around in Sari's head and started swirling in circles before it just melted into one question.

"...WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" Sari pointed her finger back and forth from Megatron and Optimus.

"I'm... honestly not even sure when to begin. But first things first, Megatron is harmless, he is dead, and he is living inside my processor." Optimus replied with a sigh.

"Harmless?? Can't Megatron like brainwash you or something?! I've already seen how that plan worked out!" 

Sari was understandably worried.  
As Optimus began thinking of which words to say Megatron spoke.

"If I did something to harm Optimus it would of already been done now. Besides, you saw him too right? The frame of Orion Pax."

"What do you mean?" Optimus questioned.

"When Sari used her powers on you, we both saw Orion Pax in the place of you," Megatron explained.

"Why did you look like that guy in the picture Optimus?" Sari asked as that was another question that stuck out in her head.

So it was true, that Optimus used to be Orion Pax.

"I...well, I don't remember anything from my past life but it seems like Orion Pax was a Cybertronian I used to be."  
It was a bit too much for him to admit to something like this, being reborn was only something that existed in myths.

"You were reincarnated. That's why I heard the name Orion when I analyzed your spark!" Sari began connecting the dots in her head.

"So...you two...are boyfriends!" She realized.

A blush raised up on Optimus face as he stammered and denied, "W-wait, we're not like that! I don't have Orion's memories!"

"Reasonable...but harsh." Megatron reacted to Optimus answer as he crossed his arms, slightly disgruntled and sad.

A question and fear started to rise in Megatron processor however.  
Although he said he will make Optimus fall in love with him again, it's still Optimus's choice. Will he still forgive him even after all the things he did in the war when he remembers? Megatron only knew for sure that from what remembered, Orion Pax would be severely disappointed in him.  
____

After they left the Decepticons lair, Optimus and Megatron were walking Sari back to Sumdac towers. Along the way Sari asked,

"So how and why did you fall in love with Orion Pax?"  
And to Optimus and Sari's surprise, Megatron was happy to talk about his lover.

"Where do I even start?" As Megatron pondered he asked Sari to analyze Optimus Spark and again the image of Orion pax was there and disappeared seconds after.

"There, your optics still have that same look to it all this time, that kindness and honesty in which I fell for when I first met you. I am a fool not to recognize it earlier."

"Aw, love at first sight." Sari said to Optimus as he became flustered since Megatron was so close to his face.

"...Can't we tone it down with the flirting?" Optimus asked.

It wasn't like he didn't like the flirting but when it came to other people observing it's overwhelming, although it was flattering at the same time. Optimus then remembered Megatron can hear his thoughts as Megatron started chuckling.

"I apologize, I do get carried away at times." He said with a slight teasing tone.

"Sari, you're taking this... new information well, I thought it would be too bizarre to even explain." Optimus said as he looked away from Megatron's gaze.

"It is weird but what else can I do about reincarnation? I basically proved that you were Megatron's lover in the past and he seems pretty happy that you're here. By the way, how did you guys separate?"  
The happiness from Megatron's optics faded fast as he remembered Orion's last day. 

"We...were separated due to our occupations and when we met again, we had different perspectives. I was rash and uncouth in my younger days, so we argued, fought, and I... I unintentionally extinguished his spark."

Each word Megatron said pained him as every word reminded him of the past, Optimus looked at him, unsure of how to feel.

"You KILLED HIM? But-but I thought you loved-" Sari shouted in surprise and confusion.

"I still love him, I didn't mean to kill him. He refused to join the Decepticons and I didn't want him to be imprisoned by the Autobots. I overestimated my strength and underestimated my resentment for his sympathy for the Autobots."

"...So what do you think of Optimus now? Him being an Autobot and all." Sari raised another question, concerned for Optimus.

"Everything that he does is his choice and this time, I'll listen. It's how I can only show my devotion after all these cycles." And his regret.

Optimus wasn't sure what to say. His thoughts weren't sorted out.

"Optimus, I know what awful things the Autobots have done but as I said, I am aware of what wrongs I've committed too. I will not care about what decision you make after you recover your memories."

Optimus did not say anything, but Megatron knew that he felt reassured. That was enough for him.

Later they dropped off Sari to her home and they said they'll see each other tomorrow as they decided to return to Cybertron.

Optimus went back at the old base, laying in his berth tired but unable to recharge. Megatron sat right next to berth, watching over Optimus.

"Can't recharge?" Megatron asked, even though he already knew that Optimus had problems sleeping.

"It's a lot to take in, so many things happened today...I'm not sure what to ask you. I'm not even sure how to act in front of you."

"You don't need to act in front of me, I want to get to know you honestly. " 

"We been fighting each other for so long and seeing this change doesn't feel genuine to me, even though I know you are being truthful with your affections."

Optimus stayed silent before he spoke his worried question.

"What did Orion Pax do to earn your trust like this? And what do you truly see in me?"  
If Megatron could hold the prime gently in his arms, he would. But he was unable to, so he simply smiled. Optimus is scared that he isn't Orion pax since Megatron holds him in such high regard, but what Optimus doesn't know is that he had asked this question before a long time ago.

"If it ever seems like I'm only in love with the past, you are wrong. What I see in you is similar to him but different, you have changed and I have too, so I'll keep on loving you no matter what." 

Megatron then began saying how he started to loved Optimus.

"What I admire about you and him was your tenacity to fight and persevere for the things you believe in, even if the odds are against you. Another thing would be your kindness, every action you do is out of selflessness."

"You make me sound like some sort of hero."

"Seems like most of the Autobots has already declared you one for a while."

Optimus recalls feeling nothing when tons of cybertronians cheered him on after returning from kaon. He only questioned whether what he did was right.

"Killing you doesn't mean being a hero. I don't feel like a hero at all."

"You didn't exactly kill me."

"What?" Optimus was confused by that statement until he pieced together that happened in their battle. How Megatron fought so recklessly and pushed his limit of how much damage his frame could handle.

Optimus optics widened as he realized, "You chose to fight with the end goal being your death...Why?

Because Megatron was in a better right state of mind he looked back on his thought process with an understanding of why he acted so erratically. It felt like he had nothing to lose.

"It started when I became a triple changer. I didn't handle it as well as Blitzwing, because when my mind got split I wanted to repress that one part of myself I didn't want anyone to see, my morality and regrets. That part of myself kept telling me, _your army can't last any longer fighting, you are failing your Decepticons, your people will never be able to live a normal life on Cybertron, and what would Orion think of you right now? Are you really doing the right thing?_ It was all too much."

Seeing his own mind split apart forced him to realize that Orion was right; every thought of Orion painfully reminded him of how he murdered him, but he still continued being the tyrannical warlord he was. He knew that the Decepticons would soon fall apart and he couldn't keep his sanity together as everything he thoughts conflicted and contradicted against each other, then everything was incoherent in his processor. It didn't help that Optimus resemblance to Orion was torturing him at the same time. 

"So I chose the easy way out...and I regret it." Megatron wished he could have done more for the Decepticons.

Optimus didn't notice but he started seeing Megatron in a new light, sympathetic as he really thought of himself as a hero to his people. Without thinking, he reached out for Megatron servos to comfort him but Optimus own servos phased through. 

Optimus quickly snapped back to reality and took back his servos.

"I appreciate the thought," Megatron said as he smiled while Optimus was embarrassed with himself.

"You...it sounds like you had a noble goal before."

"Orion and I used to talk about creating a better world. A world where nobody like us, a war frame or a manual labour mech would ever suffer to live." 

There was a smile on Megatron's face, but his tired-looking optics told Optimus that he was beaten down after cycles of war, losses, and humiliation. Megatron only felt comfortable around Optimus to reveal his vulnerability.  
  
Optimus didn't say anything out loud, but he reached out his servos to Megatron. Optimus wanted to show him to not give up hope, even if his servos phased through again.

"Even if I'm an Autobot, this goal of yours shouldn't stay impossible. Knowing that you thought of peace between Autobots and Decepticons gives me hope that it could be a real thing sooner then I thought it would be _."_

As Optimus thought of that and Megatron heard, Optimus shut off his optics as he went into recharge. 

"If you tell me everything will work out in the end-" Megatron spoke but stopped because he didn't want to disturb the sleeping mech right next to him. Megatron sat in silence as he watched over Optimus as he rested.

_Somehow, I'll still believe you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully, this chapter explains why Megatron is slightly out of character. I imagine him to be the very romantic type only around Optimus/Orion. I also wanted to write really romantic lines.


	4. A light in these grey walls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Megatron reminisces back to when he first met Orion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> flashback chapter, it's going to be sprinkled around a lot in this fic. Young love am I right?

Megatron recalls when he fell in love with Orion pax, his younger self was still getting used to how unfair bleak his world was.

The first time Megatronus met Orion pax was when he was still a gladiator fighting for his survival. No one normal ever wanted to have an occupation like this in Kaon and so all the cybertronians fighting in pits were desperate for shanix.

He's been fighting for quite a while, violence and death was becoming his every day. His reputation and name were starting to rise in popularity as he was one of the few who is still alive after many cycles of winning each gruesome battle.

The first thought when he saw Orion pax signing the contract to be a gladiator was, _'He is going to die here.'_

He was slightly shorter than himself, from the look of his frame he was built to be manual labour bot, and it was not enough built-in strength to fight against any of the experienced opponents here.

The look of the owner of the arena optics was enough for Megatronus to know that the newcomer would be matched against unfairly, and get killed to feed the audience thirst for spilled energon.

"Such a shame, he is a pretty one." Megatronus overheard the owner talking to another mech about Orion being matched up with a more powerful gladiator. Megatronus was grateful he didn't have a part in the fight, but it was likely they didn't choose him because the owner wanted the fight to last longer.

It was a pity for sure, but Megatronus couldn't do anything about it. All he could do was watch.

"Excuse me? You left this." Megatronus felt a light tap on his back.  
He turned around to see the mech who would be killed today. There in Orion servos was a datapad, he must have been too caught up thinking about Orion Pax that he forgot about it.

"Thank you." They both met contact with their optics. Megatronus could tell that this Orion Pax was a good person. The way he gave the datapad back seemed so genuine to him. It's been a while since he met anyone friendly.

Orion's optics were so kind, why was a mech like him here?

"What kind of story are you reading?"  
Orion asked.

Megatronus looked away, he wasn't looking to make friends here as a gladiator.  
"That's none of your business."

Orion almost looked disappointed, but he was used to cybertronians being standoffish when it came to conversations. In these time, cybertronians only seemed to care about others when it was beneficial.

"Oh." Orion said with his helm slightly tilted down in disappointment, as if to say _'sorry to bother you'_ and he started to walk away before Megatronus grabbed onto his servos completely on instinct, which surprised both of them.

Orion looked back in confusion due to Megatronus's actions. Megatronus didn't know why he did that. He didn't know what to say as he hesitated to give a kind word to him.

"...Good luck." Megatron spoke sincerely.

Orion expression went from surprise to a radiant smile filled with warmth.

"Thank you." He spoke softly, yet grateful.

Megatronus was afraid to care because he didn't want someone like him to die today. Just one look into his optics and he could tell he was too naive. He was like a shining light that would quickly be snuffed out in this arena.

Seeing all the kind cybertronians that did not deserve an early death was still something he couldn't get used to. It reminded him of all the nice people he used to work with in the mines, they were all first to die.

___

The audience watched in anticipation of when the new cybertronian in the arena was going to die, Megatronus watched in hidden horror at Orion being slashed every time he couldn't block an attack from his opponent. It was a miracle that he could last this long.

With a thrust of a sword that pierced through Orion and was pulled right out, everyone thought the battle was over as the smaller mech fell to the energon splattered ground. Megatronus could only watch in pity and looked away as Orion pax struggled to breathe on the ground.

His opponent started walking away, not giving a second thought about him until the crowd started murmuring in surprise. Orion stood back up confident even with his near-fatal injuries and Megatronus wanted to yell out to stab his opponent while his back was turned.

But Orion only waited until the other gladiator noticed that he wasn't dead yet.

And so the battle continued, the crowd becoming even more excited or even furious that they betted on the wrong cybertronian to win today.

There was a look of determination in his optics that stood out so different to Megatronus, every gladiator who fought in this arena had the intent to kill but not Orion. He has been stabbed and slashed but not even a hint of anger clouded him to fuel his attacks.

The battle continued and finally ended when Orion struck close enough to bash the blunt end of his sword to his opponents side of his helm, knocking the other cybertronian out. Just like that, without anyone dying, Orion walked out of the arena, seemingly unaffected and uncaring that covered with his own energon and a giant stab wound that took up a major part of his frame.

Megatronus stood from his seat and ran to where Orion was going, he wondered how he could walk off with an injury like that? How could he endure that pain? Why didn't he attack or kill when he had a chance?

He headed towards the dark tunnel that Orion was walking out of. Whenever Megatronus himself had to make an entrance to fight his rounds, there was the light outside that had always blinded him slightly before his optics adjusted to the crowds of audience sadistic cheers for blood slaughter and an unfortunate mech who he had to kill.

He wasn't too sure why he felt so drawn to see him, his own steps echoed and faded as he stopped to see the silhouette of Orion in front of him. That light shined on Orion with a soft glow, making him look almost ethereal, despite him holding on the gray wall, limping in pain.

Orion pax looked up and saw Megatronus, to which he resumed him ignoring the pain that throbbed through his entire body. 

Pretending that everything was fine, "It's you..." he said with his soft and humble voice.

"Are you alright?" Megatronus spoke back with slight hesitance.

"I'm fine, I just need to know where I can get this treated." Orion said as if it was a joke and gave a short laugh.  
  
"...I'll lead you to the medical room."  
Megatron offered a servo to help him walk but Orion shook his head no.

"No need to worry about me, you can tell me which directions I should take." 

Megatronus could only focus on how energon was dripping from his wounds.   
"What good does pretending to be fine does to benefit in this situation?" 

"I'm fine, I shouldn't bother you like this-"

Megatron didn't listen and took his servo over his shoulder and helped him walk, he noticed how Orion bodyweight immediately leaned into him instinctively and yet the injured mech was still struggling to resist and walk on his own pedes. 

"It's rude not to accept help when given." Megatronus increased his efforts to hold him up.

Orion was surprised, but after considering it for a bit he eventually started relying on Megatronus to walk. "...I'm sorry, I am not quite used to being in this kind of situation." 

After a moment of extended silence, Megatronus gave a glance to the mech he holding. Orion noticed and gave back a small smile. It was strange seeing someone who smiled through the pain, yet it was also strange when that smile made him feel something warm inside his spark.

"What is your name?" Orion asked. 

"Megatronus."

"My name is Orion pax. Thank you for your help, I appreciate it a lot."

Megatronus didn't know what to say, so his only response to Orion was silence. Orion may have taken it as disinterest from the mech who was helping him but Megatronus was actually lost in his own thoughts on what to say, that he forgot to respond.

After placing Orion on the medical berth, he couldn't help but be curious about him, he was kind and too naive. It somewhat frustrated Megatronus.

"What is a cybertronian like you doing here? Do you think you can survive and not kill your opponents?"

"...I need shanix. The contract said that non-lethal methods are another possible way to end the fight."

"Get your shanix and don't come back here, you can't possibly survive another round in the arena."

"Why? I've already signed that contract and I have other cybertronians I need to feed at home."

"You became a gladiator to help feed the people who live with you?" Megatronus was baffled. "They can get their own jobs. You are too naive and unskilled in combat, it's for your own good if you've worked some other odd jobs in kaon."

"Any other job doesn't feed them enough and they can't work yet! They...they..." Orion looked around in uncertainty, "they are..." his voice faded, probably in defeat Megatronus guessed.

A silence passed between them both as Megatronus was struggling to say something to him. Orion's presence was disarming, it made him feel weak. Someone like Orion should have been dead long ago in this kind of cruel world they lived in, and yet he still lives.

Megatronus thought to himself, 'he already signed that contract, he can't quit now.'

"I'll help train you. You know the basics of combats but you lack experience, after the medic finishes your repairs, come meet me by the entrance of the arena."

As Megatronus was about to leave with those parting words, Orion called out, "Wait!" And Megatronus turned back to look at his face, full of surprise and still taking in this kindness Orion pax never experienced before from anyone.

"I...thank you. I don't know how to say how much this means to me, but thank you." All Orion could say was thank you and yet he didn't feel like it was enough to express how grateful he was.

Megatronus wasn't sure why he was so kind to this mech, it's been a while since he has done anything like this. He already learned his harsh punishments from the mines of how others will make your generosity an advantage. 

Maybe it was his gentleness and foolish perseverance, maybe it was because he was reminded of himself, or maybe it was that he hated getting used to this awful world.

"...you're welcome." He replied back somewhat awkward, avoiding looking at Orion directly. 

**____**

Megatron even now didn't know where to place when exactly he started to notice that he fell in love with Orion. But he did know that he was already captivated when both of their optics first met.


End file.
